Keeneland Concours d'Elegance Benefits Kentucky Children's Hospital

LEXINGTON, KY (June 29, 2010) – The seventh annual Keeneland Concours d'Elegance will be held July 15-18, 2010. All proceeds benefit Kentucky Children's Hospital. The classic car show will be held on July 17 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington.

“As always, it is our hope and our goal that the Concours d’Elegance provides everyone with a unique experience — a mix of art, flair, design, sounds and — of course — a cause,” said Tom Jones, event chair. “There are many reasons to be excited about the 2010 Concours, and we are looking forward to hosting another outstanding weekend in the Bluegrass. It’s a delight to enjoy your passion and be able to do good works for the community, especially the Kentucky Children’s Hospital. The people at Kentucky Children's Hospital who make that happen day in and day out are the real heroes in this grand scheme of things.”

The unique four-day event, a showplace of thoroughbred horsepower, will feature the Ferrari as the guest marque and hundreds of exquisite automobiles on the historic grounds of Keeneland. Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929 as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles in 1947 as Ferrari S.p.A.. Throughout its history, the company has been noted for its continued participation in racing, especially in Formula One, where it has enjoyed great success. For more information on the Ferrari and its history, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ferrari.

The Concours d’ Elegance will offer thousands of car enthusiasts from across the nation the opportunity to enjoy these exotic Concours automobiles as well as many automotive special displays, hundreds of cars in the car club paddock, automotive art and a day that showcases “all things Kentucky.”

“We are so pleased to be able to bring this event to the Bluegrass,” said Connie Jones, event co-chair. “It has proven to be a fun and exciting weekend for all ages. Even children love the classic automobiles. It has been our goal for the last seven years to raise funds for the Kentucky Children’s Hospital, a very important and needed organization across Kentucky. It also is important to Tom and me to showcase our beautiful state.”

"I have the honor to work side-by-side with the organizers of the Keeneland Concours," said Dr. Tim Bricker, Jacqueline A. Noonan, M.D. Children's Miracle Network Endowed Professor and chair, Department of Pediatrics UK College of Medicine, and physician-in-chief of Kentucky Children’s Hospital. "I see them work to craft this outstanding event out of their shared passion for fine automobiles and their dedication to excellent health care. The event they create is a gift to all Kentucky children."

In 2006, the Keeneland Concours d'Elegance Board and Kentucky Children's Hospital joined to create an endowment for neonatal research.

"When we toured the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Kentucky Children's Hospital, we were so impressed with the care provided by the health professionals," said Connie Jones. "Babies throughout Kentucky are born prematurely or are sick and we want to help alleviate this problem. It is such a joy to have a happy, healthy baby."

Historically, Concours d’Elegance, or “a gathering of elegance,” originated in Paris during the 1920s. The Concours quickly became not only an event for automobile manufacturers to parade the latest edition of extravagant automobiles, but also a spot for fashion designers to showcase the latest styles. The Keeneland Concours d’Elegance is pleased to bring this tradition to Kentucky in celebration of the automobile.  

The Keeneland Concours d'Elegance has been selected for the fourth year as a Kentucky top ten event. The Concours also was judged to be a top 20 event in the Southeast for the fifth consecutive year. 

While the highlight of this four-day event is best known for the Saturday Concours d’Elegance and its magnificent display of automobiles, additional events and activities provide visitors and participants a taste of Kentucky's art, culture and elegance. Adults are not the only ones to enjoy this day. Children can have a day of fun with the Batmobile, Speedracer and with Stitches, the Kentucky Children's Hospital mascot. And, children will be judges for the classic car winner of the Children's Choice Award.

Raffle tickets for $100 each are now available for a chance to win a 2010 Porsche Boxster. All proceeds from the sale of tickets will benefit Kentucky Children's Hospital.  

For more information on the Keeneland Concours d’Elegance, to buy advance tickets to events or raffle tickets, go to http://www.keenelandconcours.com/ or call (859) 422-3329.